Characterising nanostructure functionality of conventional and advanced polymeric membranes using electrical impedance spectroscopy. Thin film membranes are an important separation process for industrial and municipal water treatment. This project will benefit Australian cities and industries by creating the tools to help reduce energy consumption associated with fouling of thin film membranes and indentify the next generation of efficient low fouling membranes.
Silicon-germanium-carbon - a novel opto-mechanic material for optical micro-electromechanical systems. Evolving from past black-and-white images, through present red-green-blue multi-spectral capability, future remote imaging systems promise spectroscopic functionality across much broader wavelength ranges in a low-cost system. However, the high cost of multiple materials and technologies for each specific spectral band limits them to high-cost industry sectors. This project proposes a simple, l ....Silicon-germanium-carbon - a novel opto-mechanic material for optical micro-electromechanical systems. Evolving from past black-and-white images, through present red-green-blue multi-spectral capability, future remote imaging systems promise spectroscopic functionality across much broader wavelength ranges in a low-cost system. However, the high cost of multiple materials and technologies for each specific spectral band limits them to high-cost industry sectors. This project proposes a simple, low-cost, single material technology based on silicon-germanium-carbon thin films for mechanical and optical applications from ultraviolet to long-wave infrared, enabling widespread application of spectroscopic imaging to multiple fields extending from climate change research, through resource exploration, to cancer detection, and aerospace/defense.Read moreRead less
Producing optimally short pulses at long wavelengths. This project aims to make the fluoride glass fibre platform the preferred material for generating ultrashort pulses at 2.8 nm and beyond. High power and efficiency from simple device architectures are essential for industry, medicine and defence. Modern sources of short pulses of light emitting mid-infrared wavelengths are complicated and inefficient. This project will improve fibre sources emitting short pulses and create the essential build ....Producing optimally short pulses at long wavelengths. This project aims to make the fluoride glass fibre platform the preferred material for generating ultrashort pulses at 2.8 nm and beyond. High power and efficiency from simple device architectures are essential for industry, medicine and defence. Modern sources of short pulses of light emitting mid-infrared wavelengths are complicated and inefficient. This project will improve fibre sources emitting short pulses and create the essential building blocks for future all-fibre arrangements that will be more robust. The sources are expected to have applications in non-linear optics and materials modification.Read moreRead less
Laser-based sensing, measurement and control of multi-axis flexure-based mechanisms for nano manipulations. The project aims to investigate fundamental issues in measurement, design, optimisation, and control of multi-axis flexure-based nano manipulators. It aims to establish novel sensing methodologies for position and orientation measurements and feedback, and advanced control techniques for nano manipulation in view of actuators’ nonlinearities, interferences among motion axes, and external d ....Laser-based sensing, measurement and control of multi-axis flexure-based mechanisms for nano manipulations. The project aims to investigate fundamental issues in measurement, design, optimisation, and control of multi-axis flexure-based nano manipulators. It aims to establish novel sensing methodologies for position and orientation measurements and feedback, and advanced control techniques for nano manipulation in view of actuators’ nonlinearities, interferences among motion axes, and external disturbances. The research is significant as such nano manipulators and methodologies represent the building blocks for many future scientific and engineering nano manipulation systems. The project will establish new knowledge, methodologies, and instrumentations for measurement, characterisation and control of multi-axis flexure-based nano manipulators.Read moreRead less
Imaging the invisible. This project aims to develop imaging technology to see and quantify objects normally invisible with X-rays. It will develop an X-ray imaging system that should provide orders of magnitude greater sensitivity to subtle changes in material composition than conventional radiography. It will devise quantitative image analysis tools for isolating specific materials of interest from complex multi-material samples, including low density components that often go undetected. Indust ....Imaging the invisible. This project aims to develop imaging technology to see and quantify objects normally invisible with X-rays. It will develop an X-ray imaging system that should provide orders of magnitude greater sensitivity to subtle changes in material composition than conventional radiography. It will devise quantitative image analysis tools for isolating specific materials of interest from complex multi-material samples, including low density components that often go undetected. Industries that could benefit significantly from this technology include airport security, the mining sector, agriculture, manufacturing quality control, and biomedical researchers studying anatomical form and function.Read moreRead less
Engineering the Next Generation of Broadband Terahertz Technologies. This project proposes a new broadband, high-power, laser technology for THz sensing. This semiconductor laser based THz technology is crucial for a wide range of applications requiring the acquisition of THz spectral signatures of materials and high-frame rate hyper-spectral THz imaging. We propose two pathways to engineer this novel THz technology: using a tuneable, coupled-cavity quantum cascade semiconductor laser and by c ....Engineering the Next Generation of Broadband Terahertz Technologies. This project proposes a new broadband, high-power, laser technology for THz sensing. This semiconductor laser based THz technology is crucial for a wide range of applications requiring the acquisition of THz spectral signatures of materials and high-frame rate hyper-spectral THz imaging. We propose two pathways to engineer this novel THz technology: using a tuneable, coupled-cavity quantum cascade semiconductor laser and by creating the broad emission spectra through active mode locking in a THz semiconductor laser. The THz laser coupled with the self-detection technique is the key to realising this, and will be explored both in model and experiment.Read moreRead less
Cleaning of tough paints on advanced composites using laser technologies. This project researches fundamental knowledge and algorithms to underpin the deployment of a novel ablation technology using pulsed lasers to remove paints, in particular tough paints, from surfaces of advanced composite structures, e.g. airframes and turbine blades. It establishes thermal mechanical models to describe ablation mechanisms of pulsed laser removal of the paint using both IR and UV bands. Optimal processing p ....Cleaning of tough paints on advanced composites using laser technologies. This project researches fundamental knowledge and algorithms to underpin the deployment of a novel ablation technology using pulsed lasers to remove paints, in particular tough paints, from surfaces of advanced composite structures, e.g. airframes and turbine blades. It establishes thermal mechanical models to describe ablation mechanisms of pulsed laser removal of the paint using both IR and UV bands. Optimal processing protocols to clean paints with different properties, without damaging the underlying composites, will be determined and demonstrated. It meets a cleaning technology need for this paint-on-composites material system to support retrofitting and re-manufacturing in industry. These are crucial industry requirements. Read moreRead less
Atomic Resolution Sensors for Imaging and Metrological Science. This project aims to create new sensing technologies for detecting motion on the atomic scale with Megahertz (MHz) bandwidth. Advanced signal processing and communication theory will be applied with the aim of developing new classes of capacitive, inductive and optical position sensors. The resolution and bandwidth are predicted to be a one-hundred fold improvement over the current state-of-the-art. Applications are expected to incl ....Atomic Resolution Sensors for Imaging and Metrological Science. This project aims to create new sensing technologies for detecting motion on the atomic scale with Megahertz (MHz) bandwidth. Advanced signal processing and communication theory will be applied with the aim of developing new classes of capacitive, inductive and optical position sensors. The resolution and bandwidth are predicted to be a one-hundred fold improvement over the current state-of-the-art. Applications are expected to include biomedical imaging, high-speed nanofabrication, high-resolution computer numerical control (CNC) machining, high-speed gas and chemical sensors, and ultra-precise seismometers and gyroscopes.Read moreRead less
Laser emission at the limit of glass transparency using nanocrystal doping . We will create a new composite glass providing strong fluorescence which fully exploits the high transmission of glass in the mid-infrared. When combined with emerging rare earth ion transitions and precise excitation processes, this project will help solve an important problem in optics; that the overall efficiency and power produced from deep mid-infrared light sources is not sufficient for all industries. The primary ....Laser emission at the limit of glass transparency using nanocrystal doping . We will create a new composite glass providing strong fluorescence which fully exploits the high transmission of glass in the mid-infrared. When combined with emerging rare earth ion transitions and precise excitation processes, this project will help solve an important problem in optics; that the overall efficiency and power produced from deep mid-infrared light sources is not sufficient for all industries. The primary outcome will be a series of robust fibre-based gain modules suitable for high power and very short optical pulses in the mid-infrared. These light sources will beneficially impact medicine, defence, sensing and manufacturing providing excellent opportunities for increasing Australian productivity and global competitiveness. Read moreRead less
Integrity prediction of ground precision surfaces. This project aims to establish a new approach to enable a reliable and accurate prediction of precision surface grinding. Precision grinding is often the final step in the manufacturing chains for a broad range of metal, ceramic, optical glass and semiconductor components, which must have ultra-high surface integrity and accurate dimensions. To date, the surface integrity of a ground component cannot be predicted due to the involvement of many r ....Integrity prediction of ground precision surfaces. This project aims to establish a new approach to enable a reliable and accurate prediction of precision surface grinding. Precision grinding is often the final step in the manufacturing chains for a broad range of metal, ceramic, optical glass and semiconductor components, which must have ultra-high surface integrity and accurate dimensions. To date, the surface integrity of a ground component cannot be predicted due to the involvement of many random factors and variables in a precision surface grinding process, resulting in high failure rates and processes requiring repeated surface measurements. The novel approach for surface integrity prediction developed by this project will make a vital step forward in advancing the discipline of precision surfacing, establish a new knowledge base and bring about significant technological impacts to the manufacturing industry.Read moreRead less